Congratz to all Warriors fans in here, overall better team and deserved moving on.
NBA 2021-2022
- Thread starter elmo
- Start date
He got a lot of unnecessary shit when he was selected to the ASG.
He is at worst a fringe all-star at this point.
@charlton66 MVP! MVP!
Thanks. After the last few years I am really appreciating tonight for what it is. Happy it’s happening on SF even if a sweep would have been nice. So happy for Klay
Appreciate it. Your Nuggets will be real threat next year though.
Almost forgot.
That's four.
Woohoo!
That's four.
Woohoo!
Was GS's path to the finals easiest in NBA history?
Clippers would be a threat if Kawhi is fit.
Pelicans with Zion are going to very good.
Grizz will continue to improve.
Mavs and Cuban might get a good center.
These predictions are tough. You need to make the most of your opportunity window for most teams.
Sorry but what are you talking about
Dont think so, TC went to Wolves, which is clear sign that Kroenkes cant be bother to invest nor have strong desire for championship push.
Looney was the X-Factor in this series. Had it not been for his rebounding and paint presence, this series would still be going on. Big offensive rebounds today again especially when Dallas were making the comeback in the 4th.
No.
I agree Looney was a huge factor, Wiggs with his defense on Luka and all around game was a huge factor, Klay coming through tonight was a huge factor. There were a lot of huge factors for the Dubs in this series.
That's what you call "Strength in numbers."
Yeah people still don’t seem to get the Warriors approach. 538 had them 11th in the West and they were consensus between 5-7 on the Caf prior to the season.
And now it is apparently an easy run to the finals.
Wiggins defense on Luka is a bit of a myth, I heard somewhere until Game 4 Luka was shooting over 50% when being defended by Wiggins.
Klay was bound to come up in one game after not being great in the previous ones. For me, Looney was a consistent difference maker with his offensive rebounds and also GSW making Dallas pay by scoring from them. The one game Dallas won they had almost the same rebounds as GSW, the ones they lost they were blown out in terms of rebounds.
If Curry and Thomson did not have one and two year long injuries, these Warriors would probably have 8 Finals appearances in 8 years! Unreal!
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Nah, their path when they had KD was probably the easiest...just because of the talent disparity with other teams.
The Suns falling apart robbed us of a quality WCF though. Dallas are a good team but Phoenix, at their best, were stronger.
The Suns are a myth. The fact is they did fall apart, and it wasn't even particularly difficult for the mavs to find the way to break them. At their best - in the regular season - this isn't the regular season anymore. They struggled in the first round against the Pelicans too. They were never real
More than for anyone, I am happy for Klay. 2 horrible injuries back to back robbed him of precious time
The Mavs defense barely existed but watching Warriors in that flow was great. Some properly fluid offensive schemes with good teamwork and ball movement and some great assists. Like watching Man City in full flow.
Hope they beat whoever comes out of the east and Curry finally wins that long deserved FMVP. Knowing him though he'd enjoy more if his teammates won it.
Hope they beat whoever comes out of the east and Curry finally wins that long deserved FMVP. Knowing him though he'd enjoy more if his teammates won it.
Hope Doncic gets his first chip soon otherwise it will keep looming over his head
I agree to an extent. But Booker getting injured against the Pelicans made that series tougher than it should have been. Similarly, Paul was clearly hurt against Dallas. I still think when healthy and playing well they are better than Dallas. It's meaningless now though.
Booker is a myth.
Chris Paul always gets hurt in the playoffs. He's 6' tall and 37 years old. The Suns were never real. They made the finals last year because Paul everybody else got injured worse than them, until the finals
Celtics gonna do to the Warriors what Detroit did to the Lakers in 04
Damn, this thread is getting like some of the hot takes on Skip and Shannon's "Undisputed" or "First Take."
The Phoenix Suns went to the finals last year, were up 2-0 and then Devin Booker got hurt. This year they won 64 games and were (by far) the best team in the league and then Booker gets hurt v Pelicans and Chris Paul v Mavs. It was the beginning of the end.
Injuries are part of the game. As a Dubs fan, I know that as well as anybody since IMLTHO it's cost the Warriors 2 more Championships. But that doesn't mean the Dubs weren't good in those seasons it just means they got unlucky at the wrong time. Same with the Suns.
I will admit I think Phoenix's possible Championship window has closed but this argument that the Suns were somehow a myth is just not true. For almost two years they were the best team in the Western Conference and with a bit more luck here and there could have easily won a title.
The Phoenix Suns went to the finals last year, were up 2-0 and then Devin Booker got hurt. This year they won 64 games and were (by far) the best team in the league and then Booker gets hurt v Pelicans and Chris Paul v Mavs. It was the beginning of the end.
Injuries are part of the game. As a Dubs fan, I know that as well as anybody since IMLTHO it's cost the Warriors 2 more Championships. But that doesn't mean the Dubs weren't good in those seasons it just means they got unlucky at the wrong time. Same with the Suns.
I will admit I think Phoenix's possible Championship window has closed but this argument that the Suns were somehow a myth is just not true. For almost two years they were the best team in the Western Conference and with a bit more luck here and there could have easily won a title.
Watching Curry play these days, I think he has reached this very rare level of play, where he is not just playing incredibly well anymore, but has figured out exactly what needs to be done, in order to win games. If the Warriors need him to distribute, he will. They need him to rebound, he will. They need him to defend, he will. And so on. He just does what he needs to.
I believe very few athletes in team sports are capable of this. Curry just figured out Basketball as a whole.
I believe very few athletes in team sports are capable of this. Curry just figured out Basketball as a whole.
Precisely. You can find a bunch of "scorers" but there are very few winners. LeBron and Curry have that quality where they know how to enable their teams to win.
And he’s not vain in the slightest. That impresses me so much. He doesn’t mind having a game without spectacular stats, as long as it helps the team. Considering the amazing skills he has, it’s baffling to see how much of a team player he is. Because he’d still be incredible if he were to carry a team on his own, as the sole star. But there is no selfishness at all from him.
I think his intelligence on and off the court as well as his character are still massively underrated. If I were a rotational player in the league, there is no star player I’d rather have as my teammate. And he always leads by example.
A very, very special player. Hope he gets another ring.
This is the best I think I have seen him defend.
Great video. Never heard about that before. Thanks for sharing that.
When did Paul get injured versus the Mavs? There was nothing said about this until he got knocked out and then only he said it himself that he was injured, weird given how quickly news of injuries spread normally.
Steph is the most disrespected superstar in the NBA, possibly in all of sports. As an example, this morning a topic on "First Things First" was "is Steph a top 10 all time player?" Wright and Broussard had him borderline but could move him into the top 10 with another ring and finals MVP. Antwan Jameson then bloviated that he thought if Steph could win another ring he might sneak him into his top 30. Even Wright and Broussard were taken aback by that and tried to mitigate the damage of such an absurd pronouncement. However, Jameson was having none of it but did eventually concede he might move him into his top 25 if he can win another ring (or two).
That's not always true especially if the player thinks he can play through it. The only obligation a team has is to put a player on their injury report if they think there is any chance he won't play (for gambling purposes). Booker did this last year in the finals vs Bucks. He was injured but played (somewhat unsuccessfully) through it.
Those two titles with Durant really do hurt his legacy because he went from being the best player to second for three years. He might end up with 4 titles but people won't really consider the two in the middle.
I don't really get into the whole top 10 stuff, so difficult to rate players from different eras, but he is certainly one of the greatest PGs of all time.
Chris Paul's hand injury was the bigger issue
Since the 10/11 season:
62 wins Bulls, didn't even make the finals, losing 4-1 to the much more talented heatles
61 wins Spurs, out in the first round
11/12*(lockout shortened, using win% to determine 60+ win pace)
Bulls and Spurs again. Again neither made the finals, Bulls due to D-Rose injury, Spurs lost to more talented Thunder
12/13
Heat - won the title
Thunder - out due to injuries
13/14
Spurs - won title. Struggled against Thunder again but injuries tilted the series their way
14/15
Dubs - won title, lots of injuries for their opponents
Hawks - swept by LeBron
15/16
Dubs - lost finals, injury to Steph
Spurs - lost to Thunder
16/17
Dubs - won
Spurs - lost to warriors, injury to Kawhi
17/18
Rockets - lost to dubs, injury to CP3
18/19
Bucks - didn't make finals
19/20** (shortened + bubble)
Bucks - lost 4-1 to Heat
Raptors - lost to Celtics
Lakers - won title
20/21* (shortened, no team with 60+ win pace)
#3 seed vs #2 seed finals, injuries again. Jazz were the Suns last season, lost to Kawhi-less Clippers. Suns 2-1 down to Lakers after CP3 injury, won series after AD injury. Nets massively hit too, lost because of it
That is 18 teams, of which 5 won the title and 6 made the finals
The RS isn't irrelevant, but it's also clearly not all that relevant either when it comes to playoff success
When has Chris Paul *not* gotten injured in the playoffs? Injury to Booker, sure, even accounting for RS not being that relevant, they still needed an all timer by CP3 to close them out. They were clearly, obviously, much easier to counter come the playoffs. And then Jason Kidd took their offence apart with fairly simple, straightforward adjustments
True, but when your title chances rest on the shoulders of an undersized, notoriously injury-prone 37 year old, well. It's just part of the game, you were built to fail in exactly the way you failed
For almost two years they were the healthiest team in the western conference. Soon as that was no longer the case - and it was always going to happen because, again, overdependent on injury-prone 37 year old - they crumbled
You mention that the two titles with Durant hurt his legacy, but on the other side of the coin, if Steph can win a 4th chip this year I think he will be the only player in NBA history as a top 75 player to win two titles without another top 75 player on the roster. There's certainly nobody in the current "so called" top 10 who has done this.
Well that's because Klay was not included when he should have been
Hakeem won a couple without a second star, though Clyde was there for the second he was past his best by then.
Also who was the second top 75 player with Isaiah and his Pistons? Dumars? Ah wait it could be Rodman.
Yeah, wasn't 100% sure. That's why I qualified it with the current top 10. '94 Hakeem was a good call by the way. I'd forgotten that Drexler was only there for the 2nd one.Well that's because Klay was not included when he should have been
Hakeem won a couple without a second star, though Clyde was there for the second he was past his best by then.
Also who was the second top 75 player with Isaiah and his Pistons? Dumars? Ah wait it could be Rodman.
Klay wore a number 77 shirt the day after the top 75 (really 76) was announced as a joke.